Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 678: Actor Rankings, the Path to the Sky

"You don't actually know what actor rankings are, do you?"Liu Rulan squinted, a hint of suspicion flashing across her face as she noticed Xiao He's distracted expression.

"Uh, of course I know. I've just never really thought about it."

Xiao He scratched his head awkwardly.

It was like those college competition awards - you've heard the name of the competition, you understand it, but it always feels too lofty, like something only those super impressive seniors and juniors would take part in, having absolutely nothing to do with small fries like yourself.

Now, suddenly hearing about it, he remembered that this was actually a thing.

—Actor rankings, primarily referring to the national actor professional title system, is the official classification and recognition of an actor's professional ability, artistic achievement, and career experience. It comes with strict thresholds and high-specification hard requirements, serving as a reflection of an actor's professional capability.

From low to high, it is divided into four levels: Fourth-Class Actor, Third-Class Actor, Second-Class Actor, and First-Class Actor.

This ranking system can also be seen as the equivalent of professional titles within the system. A First-Class Actor is equivalent to the highest artistic title within the system, potentially eligible for special state allowances, representing the peak of career development in the performing arts sector.

For actors outside the system who don't operate within its framework, this ranking is equally beneficial.

Official professional certification and endorsement from the market can make their future career development smoother. It can enhance their current competitiveness while also laying a stable foundation for their long-term career path. It could even be described as an optimized social promotion channel, allowing them to enjoy the same treatment as those within the system, and eventually eat prison food and transition to stable employment in the future.

But of course, while this ranking system seems to offer many benefits, greatly assists actors, and carries high professional recognition, it's not something just anyone can apply for. It imposes extremely strict requirements regarding education, acting skills, works, experience, industry contributions, and other aspects. It also requires recommendations from judges and experts, as well as support from relevant units. Therefore, the number of actors currently in the industry who can continue to upgrade their rankings is relatively small.

Moreover, now that the traffic era has arrived, more people focus on an actor's commercial viability, chasing the rapid monetization of traffic, and no longer rely on official professional certification. The existing commercial value of traffic no longer needs proof through actor rankings. Coupled with the fact that domestic major award preferences are not suitable for the works of many traffic stars... it's now rare to see traffic stars bother with this thankless task.

—But that's just the way of thinking for companies that are desperately scheming, with their eyes glued to money.

Liu Rulan, however, is not that kind of person.

No matter the current situation of the artists under her wing, or how great their money-making ability is, who can say for sure about the future?

Apart from Su Shengxi, who lacked ambition, both Shu Han and Tong Junhui had been sent by Liu Rulan to participate in the ranking process. Unfortunately, Shu Han failed due to educational requirements. Tong Junhui, however, had successfully earned his Third-Class Actor ranking early on and obtained the corresponding certificate.

This was Liu Rulan's way of trying to leave them a safety net.

If only Tong Junhui hadn't been involved in so many incidents and gotten caught up in that case, with his achievements and ranking, retiring from the industry and transitioning into education wouldn't have been out of the question.

But in the end, that final road wasn't given to Tong Junhui to walk...

She didn't know if she was also thinking about Tong Junhui, but Liu Rulan fell silent for a moment before continuing with a helpless tone: "I never told you about this. When you meet Yang Heng later, you can ask him about the Third-Class Actor selection process. Maybe you can go through their theater troupe's recommendation."

If she could have the backing of the National Theater, not to mention Third-Class Actor, maybe in the future, once Xiao He had accumulated enough experience, he could even take the direct route to Second-Class Actor.

"Am I already a Fourth-Class Actor?"

The actor ranking system has a set career duration requirement, so one cannot simply skip levels. Since Liu Rulan was talking like this, it meant he must have already been rated as a Fourth-Class Actor...

A look of confusion crossed Xiao He's face as he began to rack his brain.

It seemed... like it was a very, very long time ago, back when Linghui Entertainment Studio had just been established.

Liu Rulan was genuinely starting to get a headache this time. "Back when you were first caught up in that online bullying incident because of the villain Meng Zetian, I approached Teacher An and a few leaders from his academy. According to the procedures, I submitted your application for this ranking."

The selection process had an educational threshold, and Xiao He had a bachelor's degree, which made things a lot easier.

Fortunately, Xiao He's performance in the spy drama "Starry Radiance" was also very good at the time. Director Wen Hongyuan and several others thought highly of him and didn't want to see him dragged into such a malicious online storm. So, relying solely on the role of Meng Zetian and the recommendations Liu Rulan had secured, Xiao He successfully obtained his Fourth-Class Actor certificate.

And based on Xiao He's current achievements and his Dual Best Actor awards, he was essentially only one year of experience short of reaching Third-Class Actor.

But years of experience, to put it bluntly, just means building up seniority. Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. Xiao He's two current super high-prestige awards were already enough to qualify him for a direct, exceptional promotion to Third-Class Actor.

In fact, Liu Rulan felt it was still too slow. With Xiao He's accomplishments, he should be gunning straight for Second-Class Actor!

"Cough, cough, that's not really necessary, not at all..."

Liu Rulan just said whatever she was thinking, and it made Xiao He choke, hurriedly urging her to calm down. "We should just follow the system's rules. Otherwise, it might stir up another wave of public controversy."

That's Second-Class Actor! A provincial theater troupe might only have a dozen or two dozen people at that level. And among those in the industry who currently hold that rank, they are almost all senior colleagues who have been famous for twenty or thirty years, have won all the awards, have excellent reputations in the circle, and are truly veteran actors and respected performers.

Xiao He couldn't even imagine how many people would curse him out if he bypassed seniority and found some backdoor to skyrocket straight up.

This wasn't just genius-level good luck anymore; it was a direct challenge to the entire rule system of the industry!

Seeing Xiao He looking like he wanted to speak but couldn't, Liu Rulan couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Pfft—hahaha, I was just joking, of course! Why did you take it so seriously? Even if you wanted to, we don't even have the connections! Or did you think a chance like that would fall into your lap? Even Yang Heng is still diligently building his seniority for Third-Class Actor! Look how scared you got!"

Yang Heng had far more background and connections than Xiao He, had won multiple major awards in his own field, and had even achieved some international success. If he could really skip levels and get a special promotion, Yang Heng would have soared long ago! How would there be a chance for Xiao He?

But it was kind of fun, teasing the kid once in a while!

The teased kid, Xiao He: "...No, no, it's precisely because you're Liu Rulan that I was afraid you might actually go and bulldoze your way through for me!"

This top-notch agent always says there are no connections, but when something actually happens, those connections sure open up a lot of doors!

This was called blind trust in his agent!